Apple tablet to hit shops March 2010?

Two little birdies called rumour and speculation say yes

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The long rumoured, never seen, might-not-actually-be-real Apple tablet is hitting the shops this March, according to one analyst.

Yair Reiner from Oppenheimer has taken a long hard look at what is happening in the Apple camp and believes that Apple is ready to greenlight manufacturing of the tablet in China – said to happen in February – with March pencilled in for an on-sale date.

Digital publishing

The Apple tablet is something that has got the publishing industry all in a tiz, as it could well be a conduit for decent digital magazines. Reiner believes that this is the market that Apple will be focusing on, and that some sort of iTunes like store for publishers will appear.

With a purported screen size of 10.1-inches, with capacitive multi-touch capabilities, and a price tag of around $1,000, the tablet may well become the ultimate gadget for the touchscreen generation.

Reiner has also looked into crystal ball and believes that around 1.5 million tablets will be shifted in the first quarter – not bad for a gadget that's still technically vapourware.